WEEKS before the Lok Sabha elections, a latest survey conducted by an American think tank has said that BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is “more popular” than “putative Congress party prime ministerial candidate” Rahul Gandhi and that the public, by a margin of more than three-to-one, would prefer the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to lead the next government than the Congress.

Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world, conducted the survey between December 7, 2013 and January 12, 2014 during which face-to-face interviews were conducted with 2,464 randomly selected adults at their place of residence, in states and territories that are home to roughly 91 per cent of the Indian population. The margin of error is 3.8 per cent, the PRC said.

“By a margin of better than two-to-one, the public says the BJP would do a better job on each of a half dozen challenges facing the nation — from combating corruption to fighting terrorism. And the BJP candidate for prime minister, Narendra Modi, the chief minister of the state of Gujarat, is more popular than putative Congress party prime ministerial candidate Rahul Gandhi, grandson and son of former Indian prime ministers,” the survey said.

It further stated that roughly eight-in-ten Indians (78%) have a favorable view of Modi, compared with 16% who hold an unfavorable view and that “Modi’s support is especially high in the North, and he is seen favorably in both rural and urban areas and among high and low income and well educated and less educated Indians”. Significantly, Gujarat figures in the list of three states, along with Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, where the survey has found the BJP’s backing weakest (54%).

In comparison, Rahul Gandhi is seen favorably by 50% of those surveyed and unfavorably by 43%. The survey noted that “Gandhi’s favorability is fairly consistent across demographic groups and his regional support is strongest in the eastern part of the country: in the states of Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand.”

The survey said there is a “notable difference” between the intensity of support for Modi and Rahul with 60% of those surveyed saying they have a “very favorable view of the Gujarati leader” while “just 23% of the public have a very favorable opinion of the heir apparent to the Gandhi family legacy”.